


Placebo

by Nary



Category: Original Work
Genre: Asexual Character, Demon Hunters, Demons, F/F, Female-Centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 07:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13608315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: When you advertised yourself as a demon hunter, you got all sorts.  People whose cats were talking to them, people who had bought a creepy doll off eBay and now wanted it exorcised, people who claimed they were pregnant with Bigfoot's baby... it was like a steady parade of National Enquirer headlines.  Most of them were easy to deal with, and enough of them were willing to pay for her services that she was able to get by.  Still, she never quite gave up hope that someday, one of them would actually be the real deal.





	Placebo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xiuxi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xiuxi/gifts).



"So I woke up in the middle of the night, you know, the first night in my new apartment? Only I couldn't move, I could hardly even breathe. It was still dark out, but I could tell there was someone else in the room with me. Like a shadow that was darker than the rest of the darkness, standing beside the bed. I was so terrified! And it kept happening night after night - sometimes I'd just know it was there, sometimes I'd actually see it." 

Miranda nodded, jotting down a few notes but really only half listening to the woman who was seated in her office. It was a typical case of sleep paralysis, nothing to get too concerned about, but when you advertised yourself as a demon hunter, you got all sorts. People whose cats were talking to them, people who had bought a creepy doll off eBay and now wanted it exorcised, people who claimed they were pregnant with Bigfoot's baby... it was like a steady parade of National Enquirer headlines. Most of them were easy to deal with, and enough of them were willing to pay for her services that she was able to get by. Still, she never quite gave up hope that someday, one of them would actually be the real deal. 

Just then the woman said something that made her sit up a little straighter and take notice. "Finally, last night, the shadow crawled into bed with me and... I don't know how to say it, other than it... well, it _spooned_ me. It was so cold, and I could feel it pressed up against me, until it rested its head against the back of my neck." Her hand went to her throat, where a small crucifix rested. "When it touched the chain of my necklace, it suddenly pulled away and then it was gone. I could move again."

It could still have been a placebo, Miranda thought but didn't say out loud. The woman believed she was protected by a holy symbol, so her brain told her she was protected, and the hallucination disappeared. But it could also be, for once, an actual demon. That was exciting. "I'll take the case," she said. Besides, she needed to make her rent money, and if it proved to be nothing, it would be an easy paycheck. 

The woman went to stay at her sister's house for a couple of days, and Miranda took over her apartment. It was a nice enough place, bigger than hers (she envied the generous amount of closet space and the window in the bathroom) but also colder, with a more sterile feeling. There were no carpets, and no books. That was, in its own way, almost as creepy as the prospect of potentially confronting a demon.

After she searched the apartment for anything that a demon might be drawn to, as well as for anything that might suggest a mundane explanation for the apparition, and came up empty-handed, Miranda settled into her client's bed, an elegant four-poster, grateful that her phone had plenty of ebooks on it so that she wasn't bored. Her demon-hunting kit was at hand on the bedside table, in case she needed it. If she was honest with herself, she was hoping this would turn out to be nothing. She could give the apartment a basic cleansing, smudge it with sage, put some salt around the perimeter, maybe upsell the customer on some prayers and incantations to ward off evil, and call it done. In her entire career as a demon hunter, so far at least, that had always been enough.

She must have dozed off, because when she woke up the room was dark. She tried to roll over to see what time it was, and realized that she couldn't move. For a moment she felt panic rising in her chest, but she was able to calm herself down somewhat by telling herself it was only sleep paralysis - frightening, but harmless. That was, until she saw the figure. 

It was just as her client had described - a shadowy person that was darker than the surrounding blackness. It stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at her. Miranda lay motionless on her back, trapped like an upside-down turtle, unable even to flail her arms or scream. The being - whatever it was - stared back at her. She could feel its eyes burning into her. Then in a low, husky voice it said "Oh, I must be freaking you out. Sorry."

Miranda, finding herself suddenly able to move again, scrambled to sit up, her back pressed against the bed's wooden headboard. "Wh-what are you?"

The shadow shifted awkwardly. "Well... do you know what a succubus is?" 

Miranda nodded. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and she was beginning to be able to make out features - something feminine, but not quite human in its proportions and shape.

"That's what I am," the figure said. "Technically." If anything, it sounded vaguely embarrassed. 

"Okay," Miranda said slowly, her hand creeping towards her kit bag. "And you're here because...?"

"I used to have... kind of an arrangement... with Alison, the woman who lived here before. But she moved to Minnesota, to be closer to her mom... it was a whole thing," the demon said with a shrug. "I'm bound to this bed, and she couldn't take it with her, and the new tenant loved it, so... yeah."

That seemed like one of those things you ought to be required to disclose to a new tenant, but Miranda was no lawyer. Maybe it had been there in the fine print and her client had overlooked it for decent closets and a window in the bathroom. "She's kind of freaked out too," she pointed out.

Miranda could make out enough of the succubus' features to see that it looked guilty. "I just... I tried to talk to her, but she wore earplugs to sleep every night. Traffic noises. Finally I just got so hungry, I figured I could just take a little cuddle..."

"Cuddle?" Miranda was dubious. "I didn't think that was what succubi were known for."

"I'm ace, okay? Cuddles are my sustenance." The demon looked over at where Miranda's hand lay on top of her demon-hunting kit. "If you're going to use something in there, just do it now and get it over with. Maybe convince this lady to sell her bed, so I can start over somewhere else."

Miranda hesitated, then drew her hand back from her weapons and holy symbols. "I'll convince her to sell it - to me. Now, if you're starving, you can come and cuddle me." It was probably a terrible decision - but it felt right. The demon slid into bed and carefully curled its cold arm around her waist, spreading its claw-tipped fingers gently across her stomach. It was comforting, in a strange way. Miranda was smiling as she fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
